IMHO you should wait.

Are you sure that's coreopsis you're collecting? Coreopsises (coreopses?), like all daisies (asteraceae) don't have pods. The seeds just form right below the true flowers (the fuzzy, pollen-y, stuff in the centre of the petals). But, yes, you should wait. If you brush the seed heads and stuff start to come off, that's probably a good time to collect.

Magus I am not sure it was IDed in the forum as coreopsis. When the pedals fall off there is this little bulb shaped thing that stays behind and dries and cracks open and the seeds are inside. Sorry I'm new and don't know what the technical name of it is, but it looks like a pod to me... Here is a link you can check out, where it has a bloom and next to it you can see the two things I called pods that hold the seeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: LINK for further info.

This is my first year saving seeds but on the coreopsis I wait until the stem right under the seed pod turns brown and then I take the pod off. I figure if nature has stopped giving the seed pod nutrients then they must be ready.

Hope that helped
JP

JP,

You know, I have been doing that but it seems to take forever. I guess I will have to learn some patience and not get upset when I see a pod burst and the seeds fall out before I get to it.

It's always better to wait as long as possible and leave the seed head/pod/capsule on the plant tilll just before they spew all over the ground. It's not seed drying that you are concerned about as seed will always need to be further dried for storage. It's seed maturity that's the important thing. When the seedhead starts to crack then collect. If you deep loosing some to the soil then you are collecting at the right time!! Don't worry so much about getting every single seed. I always loose some to nature.

You can always tie a little cloth type bag around the pod so that you can capture the seeds before they fall.

Thanks for the feedback and tips, I guess I will just have to wait.

New to seed saving, so bear with me:)

I have a mini carnation from which I would like to gather the seed pods. I have gathered several brown pods, but they have not officially cracked open yet. I read an earlier post that said to wait until the pods were dry. I believe mine are, they just haven't opened all the way. THe entire top of the stem has turned brown too.
AM I doing this at an appropriate time?
Thanks.